CHOC-RASPBERRY BLISS BALLS

Well these were a happy accident! I wanted something sweet and had limited ingredients lying around, was thinking something with raspberry, something with chocolate, something that would take less that ten minutes to make. And tah-dah!

Whenever I make bliss balls I’m looking for ways to make them sweet with out using high fructose dried fruit. Because I just can’t get away with eating much of it and it also means I’m wasting all my fructose intake for the day on a snack. This is not ideal. These are sweetened and moistened with raspberry jam, not the normal kind but the kind you can make without any added sugar in a couple of minutes on the stove top.

They’re also loaded with protein from the oats, antioxidants from the berries and cacao, healthy fats, vitamin e and calcium from the almonds, amino acids from the chia and fibre from the coconut. They are full of almonds and coconut so they’re not going to be low in fat, but they are a satisfying snack so you won’t feel the need to eat too many – hopefully!

The ingredient list also isn’t that long and the recipe has very few steps so it’s an easy one to whip up when sweet cravings hit.

Makes approx 12 balls

Ingredients

1 cup raspberries (I use frozen)

1 Tbs chia seeds

1 cup oats

1 cup coconut flakes (or shredded)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 Tbs maple syrup

1/4 cup cacao powder

1/2 cup almonds

Directions

Cook berries in a small pot on the stove top until no longer frozen, add the chia seeds and continue to cook for 5 minutes, you want it simmering and for the seeds to start to expand.

Place all the dry ingredients in the food processor and blend until they are the texture of almond meal. Add the vanilla, maple syrup and raspberry jam mix and blend until a sticky dough has formed.

Wet your hands a little and roll the mixture into walnut sized balls. Eat straight away for a chocolate truffle like texture or place in the fridge for an hour or more for a firmer texture.